Only Two Days
by Sci Fi Faerie
Summary: Both relationships are put to the test when Sam is booked in Portland to perform. How will June and Sam handle it? How will Benny and Ruthie? Multiple chapters coming.
1. Chapter 1

*** Disclaimer: I do not own Benny and Joon, nor do I own any characters. I'm just here to write a story***

Finally, June could hear the much awaited sound of Ben's El Camino pull onto their street. Within seconds, she was out the door and jettisoning herself into Sam's waiting arms. He held her frame tightly, breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo. Within a few moments, they were kissing, separating only after running out of breath to touch foreheads and entwine fingers.

"Come on, you guys! For Pete's sake, it's only been two days!" Benny turned to Ruth. "It's like they've been apart for two years or something."

Ruthie smiled wistfully. "I guess that's what love feels like." With that, her smile disappeared. "Ben?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you stay and talk?"

Benny leaned in to kiss her. Sensing her apprehension, Benny met her eyes. "Yeah. Yeah, sure." He followed her into the building.


	2. Chapter 2

*** Disclaimer: I do not own Benny and Joon, nor do I own any characters. I'm just here to write a story***

One Week Earlier-

"Look, Benny, it's a good opportunity for him. I don't do this for all of my clients. If they want him in Portland..."

"That's great! Look, I'll ask him about it." Benny punched the counter with excitement. "Hey guys, Sam's getting booked in Portland!"

"That's great, man!"

"I'm not surprised, he's something else."

Soon, however, the predictable questions seeped in.

"Will he want to go?"

"Yeah, and I mean, will June let'im?"

"Hey, hey," Benny said. "It's not _up_ to her. I'm asking Sam what _he_ wants. If he wants to go, she can't hold him back. I won't let her."

"How long?" Sam asked. The video store was dead on the Tuesday afternoon. Benny left his post at the car shop early to deliver the news.

"Well, this is just the one show, so probably two days."

Sam frowned to himself.

"At most! Two days at most!"

"I don't know, Benny. That's pretty far. And June..."

"Hey, forget June for a second. This is your life. You need to start living it. You have potential! And it's only two days!"

Sam frowned again.

"Look, we'll talk to her together, okay?"

He sighed. "Benny-"

"No, I need to be there. _I_ can talk to her."


	3. Chapter 3

*** Disclaimer: I do not own Benny and Joon, nor do I own any characters. I'm just here to write a story***

"Well, _Sam_ wants to do it! You can't just keep him here! What do you expect of him? Huh?"

"Then let him tell me! He doesn't need you putting words in his mouth!"

"He does! This is huge for him! And you'd just say no!"

"Then why don't you let me talk to _Sam_? Why aren't you letting him talk? What are you, his agent?"

Sam sighed.

Later that night, in bed, Sam nuzzled into June's neck.

"Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to go?"

Sam stiffened a bit, before relaxing back into her. "I want to try it. But only just this once. If it doesn't work..."

"I want you to go. If you want to."

"It's two days."

"I will be okay." she said. Her voice held enough confidence for the both of them. Three days later, Sam and Ben packed up the El Camino and set off for Portland. June stood on the porch of the apartment building until the car was out of sight. Ruthie wrapped an arm around her.

"Let's go inside," she said, guiding June through the door to her apartment. June's eyes wouldn't leave the road.


	4. Chapter 4

*** Disclaimer: I do not own Benny and Joon, nor do I own any characters. I'm just here to write a story***

Later that night, June stood in her kitchen, blankly staring at the canvas.

"Would you mind checking on her?" Ben asked through the phone. "I don't want Sam to worry."

"Right, Sam's the worried one. Okay, I'll see how she's doing." Ruthie knocked on June's apartment door. She heard footsteps shuffle towards the door. June answered, and Ruthie's eyes immediately left June's face to the paint splattered night shirt.

"Having trouble sleeping?"

June twitched, nodding her head to the left. "A little."

"Me too. Let's go have some tea, would you like that?"

June nodded, following Ruthie to her apartment across the hall.

"It's... kind of odd. Now." June said, as she gingerly curled into Ruthie's couch. She crossed her arms. "We haven't spent a night apart in...I...don't remember how to sleep without him." she shook her head. Ruthie tried to meet her eyes, but June's remained on a fixed spot on the floor as she attempted to wriggle herself into a more comfortable position.

Ruthie smiled as she set the teas down on the coffee table. "He'll be back tomorrow. 'Til then, let's try a sort of sleepover, okay?"

Finally, June's humored eyes met Ruthie's. "I'm about 20 years too old for that. And, I've- I've never had one."

"Well, I think we can make an exception for tonight. Want to watch a movie?" June looked away, with tinges of a smile on her lips.

"Sam had me watch "The Apartment" when I moved here." She looked up. "Shirley MacLaine."

Ruthie smiled. They were already rubbing off on eachother. "I've never seen that one. Why don't we get it?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Benny and Joon, or any of the characters. I just love June and Sam, and kind of have issues with Benny. He seemed to blame June for a lot of his own problems. I mean, she and Sam were the ones who could function in a healthy relationship! Benny was a mess with Ruthie on their date. And calling June crazy and insisting he knew best- was NOT okay. June may have a mental illness, but this does not make her incapable of love or decisions pertaining to her own life! I love this romantic comedy because it allowed for that growth in Benny to realize that the way he handled things with his sister was harming both of them more than helping her. But, unfortunately, I think he will also go a bit mad with that perceived freedom for awhile, make harmful decisions and hurt people before he realizes he's got his own issues.  
**

"That was beautiful, man." Benny clapped Sam on the back. " _You_ are a born performer."

"Thanks, Ben." Sam stirred his ice water with a tiny umbrella. He sighed. The bar was loud and crowded.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Ben," Sam looked up. "When do we get to go home?"

"Sam, we just got here! I don't want to drive back tonight! Look, I know you're worried about June, but I _promise_ , she's fine. I asked Ruthie to check on her. Let's just have some _fun_ tonight, okay? Great job!" He clapped him on the back again, before leaving to order himself another drink.

Sam sighed again. Ben didn't get it. He wasn't worried. He just missed her.

He watched Benny flirt with women, and Ruthie immediately came to mind. Sam couldn't help but feel intense disappointment as he watched Benny chat up a woman with red lips and short, dark hair. Before seeing how Benny's impromptu date would go, he left the hotel bar for their room, brushing his teeth and changing into pajamas by 10. He sat on the bed with his hands on his knees, facing Ben's empty bed. By midnight, Benny still hadn't returned, so Sam went to bed. Benny finally stumbled in after 2, waking Sam from dreams of strange smelling pillows and unfamiliar sounds.

"Sleeping already?"

"It's late," Sam said, pulling the covers off and eyeing the digital clock. "Early."

"Well, I'd _love_ to sleep," Benny crooned. "But I gotta go first." Sam wrinkled his nose as Benny stumbled into the bathroom to relieve himself. When he came out, he dramatically fell onto the bed. Sam avoided looking towards him. Benny made things like that hard sometimes.

"Where were you?" Sam asked.

"Out," said Benny.

Sam nodded.

"Don't judge me, Sam. _You_ never get tired of it? I mean, _I_ know how June is. You can't _know_ that she's the one you want. Not for sure. I know _I'm_ not ready to be married to Ruthie. Not like she wants to ask me for _my_ opinion." Benny pointed a finger at his chest.

Both women wordlessly watched as the credits rolled over the screen.

"So you and my brother..."

"Yes?"

"How...is it?"

"Oh. Fine, I guess."

"You don't sound fine."

"Well...he's just been...distracted lately. And he never wants to talk about where this is going."

"This?"

"Our relationship. I mean, by now, I thought I'd be married. But it's fine. It's fun, most of the time. And Benny is handsome, funny, charming."

June cocked her head, then looked up. "Are you two in love?"

Ruthie laughed. June just stared.

"I guess I don't know. I don't know if _anyone_ can tell this early on in a relationship."

After a silence, June said " _I_ can."

"I am sure." Sam said. "I always was."

"Bullshit. It's only been two months, how can you know?"

"From the first time I saw her."

"No," Ben shook his head. "No, sorry, that's just not how it works." Sam looked at Ben, but didn't say any more. Ben ran his fingers through his hair and stood up. He began to pace. "I mean, I know, you _like_ her, and I'm happy for you. I am. But you've got so much _potential_. Don't you ever wonder about dating someone more, I don't know, normal? Prettier? Easier?"

"She's _better_ than normal. She's perfect."

"Okay, alright, fine." Ben sighed, then gestured towards Sam. "Don't you ever think about trying other girls? You seemed to have your pick tonight. Didn't it even _occur_ to you to buy one a drink? See where it goes?"

Sam's brow furrowed. "Like _you_ did."

"No, well...yes." Ben sighed again. "Look, I _like_ Ruthie. I _do_ , I just...don't you ever look at some other girl, and think 'hey, maybe I'd like her better?'"

"No." Sam shook his head.

"No? No?! What about, I don't know, Ruthie?"

"Ruthie is nice." Sam said.

"Yeah. And pretty."

"But there is no one like June."

Ben stared at Sam from his bed. Ben's hands dangled lifelessly between his legs. "I'm not a bad person."

Sam sat silently on his bed.

"I just needed some time to think. I had to get away from her. She wanted to talk about our relationship, and I don't even know what I want."

"Have you told her that?"

"Sam, women don't like hearing thing like that."

"But it's honest."

Ben continued, ignoring Sam. "I spent so long taking care of June, worrying about her problems. I _couldn't_ have a relationship. She'd never have _let_ me. Now, I spend two days away from Ruthie and I meet someone else. And I forget about her! I forget and I _like_ it!"

"Maybe it was never June."

"What?" Ben's eyes snapped up, as if he forgot Sam was there.

Sam's eyes met Benny's. "Maybe June was never the problem."

"Benny still doesn't want us together."

"I don't know if it's that..."

"I think he needs to leave us alone and focus on his own life!" June shook with anger.

"I think he still needs to figure things out for himself." Ruthie agreed, hoping to soothe June. "And I always thought you and Sam were wonderful together. I envy it. I don't see how he didn't see it."

"He's not as perceptive as he wants to be." June snorted.

"No, he's not."

"Is that part of the problem?"

"What?"

"With you two."

"I just don't know if I _do_ want this, you know? Sheesh, I just got June out of the house!" Ben sighed. "I'm sorry, Sam. I shouldn't be talking like this to you. I've just been..." he sighed. "and I drank too much. Right? Don't mention any of this to them."

Sam sighed, and nodded.

As soon as Benny fell asleep, Sam snuck out of the room. He hurried down the hall to the payphone.

"June?"

"Sam!"

"I miss you." He could hear her sigh over the phone.

"You do?"

Sam nuzzled the phone. "I miss you."

"Me too. How did it- how was it?"

"Good." He nodded.

"Are you coming home?"

"Benny says tomorrow."

As they hung up, Sam rested his forehead on the wall. It would be a long night.


End file.
